News & Updates

Archive: 2014

A drop in building consents in January wasnâ€™t enough to reverse a trend of increasing construction activity, Statistics NZ said today. â€œThe trend for new dwellings has doubled since the historic low point in March 2011, but is still 28% below the peak in January 2004,â€ industry and labour statistics manager Blair Cardno said.28-02-2014 more >>

Immigration has hit its highest pace in more than 10 years, and that is expected to put further pressure on house prices. There was a net gain of 3090 people in January, taking the annual total to more than 25,000 â€“ the highest rate since 2004. ANZâ€™s economists said the influx of people was pushing up demand for housing and supply was still tight.27-02-2014 more >>

Trade Me has increased its charges for rental property listings, and landlords are not happy about it. It still costs $99 to list a rental property with an asking rent of less than $400 per week. But the fee to list a property that will rent for between $400 and $799 a week has increased to $129, and a property with an asking rent of $800 or more now costs $149 to advertise.26-02-2014 more >>

Napier and Wellington have experienced the biggest drops in first-home buyer numbers since the loan-to-value restrictions kicked in, Property IQ data shows. Both have reported a drop of 5.4% in first-home buyers since the rules took hold.24-02-2014 more >>

On paper it sounds like a great idea. A checklist for rental properties which, if mandatory, would ensure that the 31 per cent of the population who rent are in liveable homes. Increasingly, though, there are murmurs from landlords and real estate agents about whether the rental "warrant of fitness" idea being proposed at council level will improve the tenant's lot.23-02-2014 more >>

The Wellington City Council recently released a media statement confirming that a trial Rental Property Warrant of Fitness was going to be undertaken during February. Local Authorities in Auckland, Tauranga, Christchurch and Dunedin are also taking part in the trial.22-02-2014 more >>

Almost all areas of Auckland and sizes of properties reported rent increases in January, according to Crockersâ€™ latest report. The biggest rental increase for three-bedroom properties was seen in the Birkenhead/Northcote Point area. Their average weekly rent increased 11% compared to the year before.21-02-2014 more >>

New Zealandâ€™s housing market is firmly in slowdown mode, Westpacâ€™s chief economist says. Dominick Stephens said data from QV and REINZ confirmed the beginning of a trend. He said the fall in sales was most noticeable in the cheaper end of the market and had hit all regions except Queenstown.
20-02-2014 more >>

Rising housing construction costs will underpin the prices of existing homes, BNZâ€™s chief economist says. Average residential construction costs rose 1.1% in the December quarter to sit 4.5% higher than a year earlier.20-02-2014 more >>

The census document NZ in Profile 2014 and the findings of the BNZ/REINZ Residential Market Survey hint at a disturbing trend regarding home ownership in this country. Overall the residential market is improving compared with the findings of the previous BNZ/REINZ survey.19-02-2014 more >>

A Warrant of Fitness scheme for Housing New Zealand homes will target 500 houses between now and July, Housing Minister Nick Smith announced today. He said the system needed to be practical so it could be applied to thousands of houses across New Zealand. â€œWe need to be cautious of removing houses from the rental market when there is a shortage. We also need to ensure that the benefits of the Warrant of Fitness standard exceed the costs, because housing affordability is a significant issue.â€19-02-2014 more >>

A property developer was today sentenced to six years in prison for a $47 million mortgage fraud. Malcolm Duncan Mayer was found guilty in December of 16 charges of dishonestly using a document and 10 charges of using forged documents.18-02-2014 more >>

New Zealand property sales fell 4.3 percent in January from a year earlier while the median price slipped from the record high set in December, which may reflect high loan-to-value lending restrictions and seasonal factors, the Real Estate Institute says,.
14-02-2014 more >>

First-home buyers may be edging back into the market but are still bearing the brunt of the Reserve Bankâ€™s loan-to-value restrictions, a new survey shows. BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander said the results of the first BNZ/REINZ survey of real estate agents for the year would be released next week.13-02-2014 more >>

New legislation may make criminals more likely to launder money through property transactions, real estate agents have been warned. In its latest newsletter, the Real Estate Agents Authority said that property had previously been considered a complicated way to launder money.13-02-2014 more >>

Twenty-two new rental properties were opened in Mangere today, as part of the Governmentâ€™s programme of expanding the community housing sector. It follows legislation passed last year that allowed the Government to partner with community housing providers to extend the variety of social housing.13-02-2014 more >>

Martin Dunn says he has been advised that returns from the sale of houses bought by his new investment company will not be taxable. That's despite the fact that the houses have been bought with the expressed intention of eventual sale.12-02-2014 more >>

Harcourts agents have noticed increased interest in the market from property investors, the companyâ€™s latest MarketWatch report says. The real estate agency reported an average sale price of $665,726 for residential property in the Auckland and Northland region in January.11-02-2014 more >>

New Zealand's housing market has definitely passed its peak, Westpac's economists say. The bank has issued its latest Quarterly Economic Overview. In it, it says there is no doubt that the market has started to slow.11-02-2014 more >>